Tokoyami (spirit)
This article is about the manifested spirit of Saigo Murakami's Zanpakutō. For his Zanpakutō and its abilities, see Saigo's Zanpakuto. Tokoyami (常闇, "Everlasting Darkness") is the manifested spirit of Saigo Murakami’s Zanpakutō. Appearance When manifested, Tokoyami takes the appearance of a dark skinned teenage boy, with short black hair, and piercing golden eyes. His entire body is covered in strange black tribal tattoos and complex patterns. The black markings start from the top of his forehead and reaches down to his toes. He wears very little clothing, which consists of black bandages wrapped around his hands and legs, and a large red obi sash tied around the waist, which flares out into ragged ends. In contrast to his master, who is very tall and has a large physical build, Tokoyami is of average height and weight. Personality Tokoyami is depicted as a stern, serious, and patient individual. He is not one to show emotions and usually keeps himself at a distance. He is more of an observer than a talker, and will speak only when required too, as such he is content with silently observing the situation at hand. He can also be extremely intimidating, scaring those around him with just a glare. Despite his hard-edged personality, he has strong sense of justice and reasoning. Before performing a task, he takes the time to thoroughly prepare himself, and is not one to head into battle without a proper plan or strategy. Similar to his master, Tokoyami has an innate desire for conflict, and holds a degree of enjoyment towards battle, although he is more open about it and does not try to deny this fact. Unlike Saigo, Tokoyami hates to hold back and conceal his true powers, and will always fight an opponent with full strength, whether they are weak or strong does not matter to him. It has also been stated that he has a monstrous killing intent, though he tends to keep this under control. For most of the time he has an overall good control of his emotions, it is only under special circumstances that he expresses himself, and is prone to occasional outbursts. Tokoyami possesses a very sharp intellect and has good observational skills, as seen from his ability to accurately gauge his surroundings, noting both mundane and unusual things, people and actions. This allows him to quickly notice if something is not as it should be, as shown from how he can easily see through an opponent’s tricks. He will also compliment opponents who are strong enough to fight against him in battle. History Powers & Abilities Master Swordsmanship Specialist: During his battle with Saigo, Tokoyami demonstrated highly proficient skill in swordsmanship, enough to fight most of the battle with only a single hand. Having watched his master from within the confines of the inner world, Tokoyami has gained years of knowledge and combat experience. His style of swordplay combines brute force with powerful and destructive strikes, which is made possible due to his immense strength. He is quite adept at using a katana and is capable of fighting against a high level opponent like Saigo. Tokoyami is not limited to just using one sword, but is capable of using two or even three at a time, as such he has created his own unique and unorthodox style. Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Drawing from Saigo's experiences, Tokoyami can be dangerous when unarmed. He is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat, as he is capable of fighting on even grounds against his master. During their brief encounter in Saigo's inner world, Tokoyami was able to block a straight punch from Saigo who in his own right is a dangerous hand to hand combatant. He was able to come out of the bought with nothing more than a small bruise on his shoulder. This shows he is capable of fighting against high level hand to hand combat fighters. Enhanced Speed & Agility: Tokoyami has shown to be quite fast, as he is able to keep up with a Shunpo expert like Saigo. His speed and agility are quite impressive, as he is capable of dodging attacks at close range without much difficulty. He is able to close large gaps of distances in a blink of an eye, and can sneak up behind an enemy unnoticed. Like his master, Tokoyami is also proficient in evasion in close quarters as well as from a distance. Immense Spiritual Power: Like his master, Tokoyami possesses an incredible amount of spiritual energy, and the sheer power of his Reiatsu can be felt from enormous distances away, this is evident when Saigo release his Zanpakuto form, which comes with an extreme release of spiritual pressure that affects the surrounds area. Tokoyami’s spiritual power has the same effect as his Zanpakuto form, as it represents the element of darkness. When releasing his spiritual energy, his body is surrounded by an aura of darkness which has the potential to completely block out any source of light in a specified area. His spiritual energy has been described as being dense and heavy, and is intense enough to suffocate being of much weaker spiritual power. He has also demonstrated the ability to release his spiritual energy into a potent aura around him; this aura can apparently be used to further augment his physical abilities, such as enhancing the strength of his punches and kicks or using it to defend against attacks that would otherwise cause him harm. The aura can also acts as a sort of barrier to reduce the impact of attacks on him, if not negating them completely. Zanpakutō At any time, Tokoyami can summon his sealed Zanpakutō form. It takes the form of a shikomizue (a blade hidden inside a cane). Because it resides in a cane, its hilt is still the handle of the cane, so it looks different from most Zanpakutō. Both the handle and scabbard are sleek black, which gives the entire sword the appearance of an ordinary walking stick. The blade itself is normal in appearance and has a sharp edge, making it easier to use for cutting. It is also considered to be a very light sword. *'Shikai': Because of the level of control Tokoyami has over his powers, he does not require the use of release commands. :Shikai Special Ability: Tokoyami's ability lies in the manipulation of darkness and shadows. The darkness that Tokoyami generates is visually demonstrated as a black smoke-like fluid substance. Tokoyami displays the incredible power and ability to manipulate and or generate shadows and darkness. This ability comes in different variations, from having destructive capabilities to causing pain, tension, and fear-based illusions to whomever or whatever is caught in its range. Tokoyami's control over the darkness is even greater than Saigo's and is able to use its unique properties for a number of effects and abilities. The darkness can be given physical form and tangibility allowing it to interact with the surrounding. He is able to manipulate the darkness to produce a variety of energy based techniques that can be used to attack an opponent head on and can also be shaped into various forms such as shields and ghostly apparitions. Tokoyami can also control and manipulate shadows to his advantage, he has demonstrated the ability to blend into shadows completely, by doing so alows him to take control over an persons shadow and to an extent their mind and body, though temporarily. He can also use shadows to travels from one place to another, it is a unique form of teleportation. Category:Male Category:Zanpakuto Spirit